# The book Sapiens in hardcover: really heavy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-sapiens-in-hardcover-really-heavy/781611 "2017-03-07T11:03:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-sapiens-in-hardcover-really-heavy/781611/1 "2017-03-07T11:03:11Z")
And I don’t mean deep. I had read \*\*Sapiens \*\*on Kindle and really enjoyed it a couple of years ago. I decided to get myself a “keeper hardback” that was not a first edition or anything. I want to be able to write in it with my own comments and marginalia. If you haven’t read it, it is a fascinating look at Human’s place in the world. So it arrived. Whuff - it is so freakin’ _heavy_! I don’t have a scale with any precision, but it feels like it outweighs a typical hardcover by 2x-3x. Anyone else notice this? This is a U.S. edition, btw. I am likely going to return it. Never experienced that before in a book of normal size. The paper stock is so heavy. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-sapiens-in-hardcover-really-heavy/781611/2 "2017-03-07T11:04:32Z")
How many pages are we talking about? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-sapiens-in-hardcover-really-heavy/781611/3 "2017-03-07T11:31:02Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > How many pages are we talking about? Just under 450. It is a “normal” sized hardcover. Maybe an inch wide; maybe 10" x 6". Nothing _War and Peace_-y about it. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-sapiens-in-hardcover-really-heavy/781611/4 "2017-03-07T12:41:01Z")
[Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) has dimensions and shipping weights for their available books. I only checked a couple, but Sapiens is indeed heavier than two randomly chosen comparably sized hardbacks. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-sapiens-in-hardcover-really-heavy/781611/5 "2017-03-07T12:45:55Z")
> [@naita](#): > > [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) has dimensions and shipping weights for their available books. I only checked a couple, but Sapiens is indeed heavier than two randomly chosen comparably sized hardbacks. :smack::smack: I never thought to check for weight on Amazon! Thank you! And yeah, 2.5 lbs?! That’s massive. I already have it boxed up for return. I guess I will get the paperback - if that isn’t made with massively-heavy paperstock - when it comes out in December. ---
**Author:** ![StarsApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@StarsApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarsApart)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-sapiens-in-hardcover-really-heavy/781611/6 "2017-03-08T19:45:53Z")
I’m reading a library copy now. It is so heavy. I can’t hold it the way I normally hold even other nonfiction hardback books. I wonder why… I’m really enjoying the book, though. It’s one that makes you think. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-sapiens-in-hardcover-really-heavy/781611/7 "2017-03-08T19:54:33Z")
> [@StarsApart](#): > > I’m reading a library copy now. It is so heavy. I can’t hold it the way I normally hold even other nonfiction hardback books. I wonder why… > > I’m really enjoying the book, though. It’s one that makes you think. Yes it is a thoughtful book and well written. I could tell immediately that I would not enjoy holding it while I read. I hate having to wait for the paperback but so it goes. I don’t want to reread it with my Kindle - that was the whole point to getting a \*book \*book!